Two new stories out

Happy holidays everyone! To help you celebrate- while you decide which books to buy as gifts this season- here's a couple of new stories of mine you can read for free.

Thanks to Tell-Tale Press!

“Registry”

“The Push”

New Story Publication and Upcoming Shows- Updated with pics

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. We had a nice family time, and the weather was lovely for good long walks to burn off the extra food consumption.

So I've got another story out: "A Clean, Well-written Manuscript," is online at Over My Dead Body. Having a fun riff on Hemingway. That's my fifth story for them! And you can read it for free!

The Zack Taylor series has been selling well in bookstores this year, though I'm only displayed in a handful. 

The recent book signing at Letterpress Books in Portland, ME, went very well. Saw old friends, sold a bunch of books, had my first Holy Donut, and later my yummy Pat's Pizza.

And we'll have over 30 authors for the
upcoming 6th Annual Gala Mystery Night
Thursday, Dec 7th  6:00
New England Mobile Bookfair
241 Needham St, Newton, MA

To see how much fun previous ones were, check it out here.

First Story of the Year Published!

Hello All.
Am very happy to see my first published story of the year, One For the Road, in Crimson Streets.

Click here to read it.

And there's some terrific artwork- an illustration by the talented L. A. Spooner:

They tell me it's the last story of their first year of publication. Cool milestone.

Last year, my story Forever Amber was the last story ever accepted by the awesome ThugLit.
Would rather these excellent publications keep going!

And have three more stories sold that will be appearing in various publications ere long. Here's to a productive year!

Derringer Awards

I received notice that my story "Automat" in the collection Best New England Crime Stories 2015: Rogue Wave from Level Best Books, was submitted for consideration for a Derringer Award from the Short Mystery Fiction Society.

So I checked it out, and sure enough, there it is on the list. Tres cool!

A little further down the list is also named the story Smudge, by Ray Daniel, in the same collection as mine. It's so good, it reminds you of a Lawrence Block story- very high praise.

Not too long ago, Ray released his debut novel Terminated, a cracking-good mystery thriller.
And we've interviewed him- to see that, click here.

Three Stories Out

To show what a hard-working writer I am, I've got 3 stories out in current publications--
and another tale in an upcoming issue of Beware the Dark.

The first one is my story KillerElla, featured in the inaugural issue of Trysts of Fate magazine.
Since it's the very first issue of this magazine, you may want to pick one up as a collector's item.
Just sayin'...

The second is Knife Edge, a story featuring Mt. Katahdin in Maine, out now in Over My Dead Body.
This is my third story in their publication- a great place for mystery and crime tales.

And my third one, Dead Man's Hand, is in Voluted Tales, an Australian publication.
That makes the third continent where I've been published!

Check them out- hope you like them!

I'll be at the Foxboro, MA Common this Sunday at their craft fair, signing books with the folks of Books and Boos, along with Vlad V. We got rain-dated out of Saturday, so hope it's better then!

Cover Boy

Wow- I'm currently featured on two covers at present.

First, I made the cover of a new magazine! No, not GQ or Esquire, sorry, that's later. But here's a link to the very first issue of Trysts of Fate magazine.

Dare I say, you might want to pick this up as a Collector's Item that may very well increase in value. Premier issues are good things to snag for your future. And check out my story KillerElla, a fun little romp. Zombies, romance, and fairy tales- how can you go wrong?

And made another cover, for the emag version of the University of Maine Alumni Association newsletter. Go Bears!
They've got a lovely little piece about me publishing my 12th book.

Free Stuff, Booksale Expo, Latest Work

Lots to speak of today, so much going on.

First the free stuff- because we like you...

A Memory of Grief is in its final days of being free.
This hit #8 in the Kindle Store in the Crime Fiction > Murder category, so pick up the first book in the Zack Taylor series while you still can (#3 is now out).

And if you're in the mood for something shorter, my fantasy story "Froggy Went a Courting" is also free- check out Barnes and Noble or Smashwords.

And if you want more- like a free booksale expo-- with a free gift bag to the first 100 visitors-- get on down to the Danversport Yacht Club next Wednesday, July 31, from 4pm to 9pm.
It'll be chock full of authors, books, publishers, and more-- music, a cash bar, raffles, and treats.
The Harborview Ballroom, 161 Elliott Street (Rte. 62),  Danvers, MA 01923

I'll be there signing books and meeting readers. Come on down!

Now for the other stuff- like the all-new print version of the 30th anniversary issue of Fungi--
420 pages of weird, horror, fantasy, and science fiction.
I've got one of the many stories in here, and there's so much else, it'll take you the rest of the summer to read it.

Free Kindle Ebook and Featured Twice

You like free ebooks? Want to find other good books? Have I got deals for you!

We're celebrating the release of A Shadow on the Wall, my third Zack Taylor mystery, by offering
 A Memory of Grief, the first one in the series, for free.

And for the next few days, you can also get a Kindle version of Fables and Fantasies, a collection of twisted tales. Fun little stories, and a few scary ones.

"But I don't have a Kindle!" you say. No problem. Contact me, and I'll tell you how to get these books free in other formats.

Today is rather special, as I'm being featured on not one, but two Author Spotlights.

The first one is Free Ebooks Daily, where they feature Fables and Fantasies-- and I do some Q&A and some fun facts. Yeah, check them out, as they have other books to offer. Scroll down to see the full enchilada.

And the other is Morgen Bailey's Writing Blog, a great spot to find features on many books and authors. I talk about the craft of writing, and the importance of hard work. And they're showing
A Shadow on the Wall there.

So- happy Wednesday, and good reading!

Second Story Up, Continuing, 50 to go!

Got another story up tonight, "Our New Queen." It's now up, with a gorgeous cover- take a look: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/112243

Apart from being an unsettling dark fantasy tale, it's a testament to determination. The first time it didn't go through, had some formatting errors, even though I used the Nuclear Option. So I redid it, and just got word it went through fine! You sometimes have to keep trying.

So that's 2 down, 50 to go. Phew.

And that's after we had to return a dead Christmas tree today. After we'd decorated it. Stripped it, tied on the vehicle (in the rain) and drove it back. I figured out why it was dead when I saw the remains of the "fresh cuts" the guy had been doing. He was cutting alright, but about half an inch. Inexperience is going to mean a lot of dead trees this year.